Alumnus Named to Number Two Spot at Lincoln Center

Emerson College alumnus Russell Granet ’87 has been named executive vice president of Lincoln Center Education, Community Engagement, and International, where he will oversee the New York–based performing arts organization’s global consulting division, as well as advocacy and outreach to local schools and nonprofits.

Granet has headed up Lincoln Center Education since 2012. In that time, he has led a rebranding campaign and a renewed focus on working with schools in New York City and beyond, launching new programs with shelters, libraries, and social service agencies and developing innovative partnerships.

The promotion adds to his portfolio Lincoln Center International, which helps performing arts clients in China, India, Latin America, and other parts of the world build and run world–class concert halls.

“Russell’s efforts at the helm of Lincoln Center Education have been unique and extraordinary,” Lincoln Center President Jed Bernstein said in a statement. “Expanding his area of operations to include Lincoln Center International is a just and well-deserved evolution of his responsibilities and recognizes his tremendous value to Lincoln Center.”

Granet said his promotion signals Lincoln Center’s commitment to education and outreach.

“Lincoln Center is the largest performing arts center in the world, and they have put a stake in the ground by advancing an [educator] to the highest level in the organization, next to the president,” Granet said. “Education is a huge piece of what Lincoln Center is all about, and I think it sends a message to the field that this should be taken seriously.”

Granet joined Lincoln Center after running an international consulting practice, Arts Education Resource, which worked with cultural institutions, public school districts, and independent schools. Prior to consulting, he held leadership positions at The Center for Arts Education and The American Place Theatre. For 10 years, he taught a course he created, Drama with Special Populations, at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education.

He was a teaching artist at various organizations after studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and Emerson College, where he earned a degree in communication studies and laid the foundation for his future career.

“That sense of community and giving back, and the importance of arts and culture, was certainly fostered and celebrated during my time at Emerson,” Granet said.

He holds a master’s degree from NYU.